Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1781 Helpless Transformation

"The higher-ups don't give you a way to survive. The Brazilian plateau is really raised by stepmothers, and it's a trap." On December 1678, 12, Liu Houfei, the commissioner of the Beining District Administrative Office, held a fruit tree and said to himself a little irritably: "But fortunately, we are clever and self-reliant and figured out a way, otherwise, wouldn't we be dead!"

The new government came to power and implemented a so-called "going south" policy, that is, attracting funds, technology and manpower accumulated in Brazil to go south to develop the Pampa Plain, which is still in the hands of the Spaniards. Unsightly actions, such as recruiting suspicious horse bandits into Spain to cause sabotage, sending people to assassinate Spanish religious figures, such as sending troops directly into the Pampa Plain to coerce the Spaniards to bow their heads.

Although all these things were achieved smoothly due to the strong national power of the East Bank, they have greatly damaged the international reputation of the East Bank—at least Liu Houfei himself thinks so—and at the same time led the country into the wrong direction, giving facilitated the development of other countries.Just like what a well-known businessman in the Jiaohe Port area said before, people on the east bank poured more national power and resources into the Pampa Plain, while ignoring the development of the tropics. This is extremely wrong.Because the market is there, if you don’t occupy it, someone else will always occupy it. If you don’t sell cane sugar, coffee, cocoa, or tobacco, the Portuguese will sell it, the British will sell it, the Dutch will sell it, the Spaniards will sell it, and even Even the Courlandians would benefit from it.

There is some truth to this statement, but it is not completely absolute, because the East Coast government only cooled down Brazil's tropical plantation industry, and did not kill it with a single stick.What's more, Xinhuaxia Island produces the most tropical plantation products on the east coast, such as cane sugar, sisal hemp, rubber, coffee, cocoa, pepper, vanilla, coconut, and dyes (dye plants that some industries cannot produce on a large scale). As long as the largest colony in the country continues to maintain its stability, the East Coast Republic will never be absent from the international market for tropical commodities.

However, this is true from the national level, but it is more uncomfortable from the standpoint of local officials like Liu Houfei.Because the previous boom cycle of tropical commodities brought them extraordinary profits, the local government’s finances were more abundant, and they could carry out better construction, and it was easier for officials to make achievements and be promoted.But what the hell is going on now?The reduction in investment, the weakening of policy incentives, and the gradual tightening of funding pipes have brought endless nightmares to local officials in the Brazilian highlands.

You see, the Dutch West India Company, which was originally confident in investing in the east coast, is now asking people around the bush, is the east coast government going to "abandon" the Brazilian plateau?Will there be enough investment in security, defense, medical care, and transportation construction here in the future?You must know that the Dutch West India Company took a fancy to this place and spent money to hire a lot of German country bumpkins from the Old World to open plantations. It was originally aimed at the above three conditions.Otherwise, wouldn't people invest in Guyana?Won't you invest in Tobago?Won't you invest in the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa?Isn't it because of the chaos there, the harsh environment, and the poor infrastructure!

However, all these complaints do not seem to have much effect now, and the executive committee in charge of the direction of the country seems to be going its own way!They even put forward a "noble" goal for this purpose, that is, they are afraid that the people will indulge in tropical plantations, an industry with great side effects, so they must vigorously develop industry and agriculture, let the country get on the right track, and use "healthier way" to make a profit.

For this statement, Liu Houfei, commissioner of Beining District Administrative Office, scoffed.In his view, factories producing mechanical parts, daily necessities and weapons are hard-earned money, but tropical plantations are also hard-earned money.They didn't steal, rob, or cheat, so why can't they be treated equally?The work on the plantation is a bit heavy, the environment is a bit poor, and the death rate of the labor force is a bit high, but the rewards are big enough!Moreover, it can also drive the development of multiple industries including food processing, shipping, and seedling selection. It is still worth investing heavily.No matter how bad it is, it should be in the same position as other industries, instead of reducing the amount of bank loans and reducing the allocation of labor resources as it is now (the government has reduced the number of Polish laborers allocated to state-owned plantations), supporting the foundation The construction of facilities is also far away, so that some nationals who have already settled here have moved to live in the south, not to mention the non-national laborers whose contracts have expired. These undoubtedly brought great impact to the local economy of the Brazilian plateau. big negative impact.

Of course, Liu Houfei's views cannot influence the country's major policies. In the Brazilian plateau area, what needs to be considered now is how to break through the local economy and get out of trouble.Places such as Hue and Jiaohe may not need to think about it for the time being. Their environment is humid and hot, and they can only go all the way to the dark in the tropical economy.

You must know that the climate in Beining is not as hot and humid as in the north, because it is located on a plateau of 800 meters, and generally speaking, it is still a subtropical climate.Moreover, the local soil is fertile, the rivers are vertical and horizontal, and the valleys are everywhere. It is not impossible to develop agriculture and the food processing industry that comes with it.This point has been proven even decades ago in the Portuguese occupation era, when the Diocese of Sao Paulo mainly provided food such as wheat, corn, livestock, fruits, wine, dairy products, oil and other foodstuffs for tropical plantations in Rio de Janeiro, and occasionally planted some tobacco. , but not very large.Now that people from the east coast occupy such a fertile land, their development level is even higher than in the past. Couldn't they follow this path and find a new path?

Liu Houfei had carefully discussed the future development plan with local officials and businessmen.Everyone summed up and summed up, and finally had to admit that the best way out for Beining's development is currently the food processing industry. Others are limited and not within the priority range.

The development of the food processing industry is actually very particular. The first problem is the choice of competitive products.After holding several meetings and listening to experts from the state-owned Dafeng Food Company and the private enterprise Xushi Food Company, the two giants in the domestic food industry, the regional administrative office finally decided on the direction of focusing on the development of the canned food processing industry.

The reason for this is that apart from the fact that the local area does have relatively rich sources of fruits and meat, the biggest reason is that the two companies have committed to invest in the Beining area.Among them, the state-owned Dafeng Food Company decided to set up a branch here, called the Beining Branch of Dafeng Food Company, specializing in the production of various canned meats or canned fruits, in order to compete with the state-owned Pingan Canned Food Factory and enter the Today's increasingly lucrative canned food market.

Just in the middle of last month, Cai De, the soon-to-be-retired general manager of Dafeng Factory, made a special trip to Beining County to discuss with the regional administrative office on investment in setting up the factory.At the beginning, the Beining area planned to locate the factory in Beining County in order to utilize local resources nearby.However, Dafeng Foods has concerns about the traffic conditions between Beining County and the port city of Changshun County. It believes that if the production plant is located in Beining, the transportation of materials will be extremely inconvenient and the cost will be greatly increased.After all, the small roads from Changshun Port to the hinterland of the Brazilian plateau have no obstacles for people, animals or small horse-drawn carriages to pass, but it is absolutely impossible for large trucks to pass, unless you are willing to bear the super high accident Rate.

Therefore, Mr. Cai of Dafeng Company insisted that setting up the canned food factory in Changshun County, which has an excellent port (formerly San Vicente Island, later Santos Port) that is not inferior to Hue (Rio de Janeiro), will benefit the factory in the long run. development is extremely beneficial.Otherwise, how to compete with Ping'an Canned Food Factory?You must know that although Ping An Port can only navigate small and medium-sized ships with a low draft, the logistics cost must be much smaller than that of Beining County.

Liu Houfei deliberately disagreed with the choice of the factory site, but he couldn't twist his thighs, and the situation was stronger than others. He was afraid that Dafeng Food Company would move the factory to another place in a fit of anger, so in the end, he had no choice but to persuade Xingwen Changshun County to do it. Good preparatory work.As a result, the gap between the county located in the coastal zone and other counties in the hinterland has further widened, and the trend of regional development imbalance has become more and more obvious.And if the traffic problem between Beining and Changshun is not resolved, the gap may become even bigger, and in the end, the whole region may be working for Changshun County.

Coincidentally, Dafeng Food Company intends to set up a factory in Changshun County, and Xu’s Food Company (originally Xuji Oil Press Factory, Xu’s Dairy Industry, Xu’s Orchard and other enterprises merged) also plans to open a factory in Changshun County. Because of its lower logistics cost.Moreover, their new factory is almost the same as Dafeng Company. They both focus on canned food, and all of them are licensed for inventions from the Natural Science Park.

There is no doubt that this kind of can is made of tinplate as a raw material, which benefits from the rapid development of materials and machining processes in Tieling County.Compared with traditional glass cans - that is, put meat or fruit in a glass container, plug the bottle mouth loosely with a stopper, and then put it in a hot water pool, after a long period of inspection, then plug the bottle tightly and find a way Seal it with something - tinplate cans are not only strong and durable, but also have a shelf life that is several times longer, which is conducive to long-distance transportation. It was warmly welcomed by the military as soon as it came out. Now the development momentum is getting stronger and stronger, and it has greatly replaced the traditional glass cans. The premise is that the cost of tinplate will be lowered slightly.

The reason why the shelf life of tinplate cans is longer than that of glass cans is mainly due to two reasons, namely, high-temperature sterilization and progress in sealing technology.The above two technologies are by-products of the Academy of Natural Sciences' research on bacteria, and are currently licensed permanently to interested companies for a price of 5000 yuan.Of these, pasteurization is more interesting because it involves steaming cans of parboiled meat in a tank filled with calcium chloride at a temperature higher than boiling water until the air is emptied.At this point, workers seal the small hole in the top lid of the can with tin, and the small amount of oxygen still remaining inside the can binds with the food, preventing further changes.

The sealed cans still need to be sent to the inspection workshop for inspection, usually by heating.If the food in the can is spoiled, the gas will burst the can, which is a substandard product.And if the can is intact and not burst, the can is a qualified product and can be packed and shipped to the location designated by the customer.

Don't underestimate the development of this industry. Nowadays, with the people on the east coast "running around" all over the world, colonization, trade or exploration activities are intensifying. Canned vegetables, canned fruits, canned meat, and fish that are easy to preserve and transport The demand for canned food is increasing, which is a long-term promising sunrise industry.In fact, not only Dafeng and Xu’s two food companies are optimistic, but the old canners Ping’an Canned Food Factory and Ma’s Food Company (formed from the merger of the original Ma’s Orchard and Ma’s Ranch) have also set their sights on this. It is planned to set up factories in the Southern Cone, which is rich in fruit production, and the coast of Brazil.

Liu Houfei also planned to contact them, but in the end one of these two companies went to Jiaohe Port and the other to Hue Port, which made him feel rather regretful.But it doesn't matter much, he, Mr. Liu, has already attracted investment from two big food companies. The counties in Beining in the hinterland have been developed for many years, and the agricultural conditions are very good. They can continuously provide raw materials for the production plant in Changshun County. It will be a matter of time before the canned food industry grows gradually in the future.

"The native land doesn't care about us now, and our necks are stuck. If we don't think of a way to transform and upgrade, the days to come will become much more difficult." Looking at the large peach grove in front of him, Liu Houfei shook his head. Shaking his head, he obviously couldn't let go of his heart: "Forget it, our tropical plantation can't be done anymore, so let's transform it in the future. Canned food is a long-term optimistic industry, and we need to focus on development. In addition, from Dafeng Food The company has obtained patent authorizations for improved biscuits, chocolate, malted milk extract, etc., and then invests in its own development, which must be included in the agenda as soon as possible. The Dafeng Factory also obtained the patent from the Academy of Natural Sciences back then. It’s quite a lot, and the patent extension is almost over. If you buy it now, you should be able to get it at a very low price. You know, Beining is not only suitable for growing grain, fruit and tobacco, but also very suitable for growing cocoa and northern seeds. The company has bred cocoa seeds adapted to the highland climate of Brazil, and it is time to introduce them.”

"In the future, we will transform and develop various special foods and follow the path of the food industry. In this way, the old people in the executive committee will have no reason to criticize us." Liu Houfei finally thought.

(End of this chapter)